Sunday Streets and yacht parade draw crowds

SAN FRANCISCO

Published 4:00 am, Monday, April 27, 2009

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Clara McDaniel takes a Yoga class for kids with her grandson, Darnell Lemon, 4, on the Embarcadero on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the Embarcadero from about 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the ballpark to Fishermans' Wharf in San Francisco, Calif. less

Clara McDaniel takes a Yoga class for kids with her grandson, Darnell Lemon, 4, on the Embarcadero on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Ronin Mukai, 5, of San Francisco, tries out the climbing wall at the end of Fisherman's Wharf on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the Embarcadero from about 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the ballpark to Fishermans' Wharf in San Francisco, Calif. less

Ronin Mukai, 5, of San Francisco, tries out the climbing wall at the end of Fisherman's Wharf on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Sisters, Asonda, 10, and Denille Lemon, 7, play on the Embarcadero on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the Embarcadero from about 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the ballpark to Fishermans' Wharf in San Francisco, Calif. less

Sisters, Asonda, 10, and Denille Lemon, 7, play on the Embarcadero on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the Embarcadero from about 9 a.m. to 1 ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Michelle Wing, of It's Yoga Kids, leads a yoga class for children on the Embarcadero on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the Embarcadero from about 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the ballpark to Fishermans' Wharf in San Francisco, Calif. less

Michelle Wing, of It's Yoga Kids, leads a yoga class for children on the Embarcadero on Sunday, April 26, 2009, that was part of the first Sunday Streets event for 2009. The event shut down the Embarcadero from ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Sunday Streets and yacht parade draw crowds

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The sun came out, the sailors hoisted pirate flags on their yachts and people biked, skated and rode Segways along the San Francisco waterfront Sunday, making for a magical day by the bay.

The opening day parade of yachts, starting San Francisco's yachting season, coincided with Sunday Streets, a city effort to remove cars from the roadways and replace them with outdoor exercise.

Modeled on a 30-year-old program in South America, the Embarcadero was closed to cars from AT&T Park to Aquatic Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sunday Streets is designed to get families off the couch, and also to connect San Franciscans with neighborhood merchants in traditional tourist areas.

"They should do this once a month!" said Maria Moustakis, owner of the Java House next to AT&T Park, as customers lined up to order burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches.

"It makes it feel like San Francisco used to be when I grew up here - more of a family place," she said.

Mayor Gavin Newsom kicked off the Sunday Streets program last year, twice shutting down six miles of bayfront roads and turning them into pavement party zones. Tens of thousands of Bay Area residents participated, and it was so popular it will grow this year to six Sundays, each in a different neighborhood.

"I took off church for this, but I think the Lord will understand," said Clara McDaniel, who took her four grandchildren to AT&T Park to run the bases and then set them loose on a circuit training area set up by the YMCA of San Francisco.

As McDaniel tried her first yoga class, her grandchildren jumped rope and did bicep curls with elastic exercise bands.

"Are my arms getting bigger?" asked Danille Lemon, 7.

At Hyde Street Pier, friends Marge Pitts and Nedra Jones of Florida snapped photos of the decorated boats in the 93rd annual Parade of Yachts.

"I wanted to take my friend somewhere she has never been, someplace that's different, beautiful and just a neat place," Pitts said.

"We couldn't have picked a more perfect day," she said.

While some Fisherman's Wharf merchants were concerned that the road closures would keep customers away, it was business as usual at Cioppino's Restaurant, said manager Carlos Prieto.

Customers filled every outdoor table for Sunday brunch.

"It's a typical Sunday so far, but I see a lot of people down the street, so I expect we'll get even more," Prieto said.

"It's the adult version of chocolate milk," said Mag Donaldson, TCHO's director of channel management.

Many people who rode their bicycles up to the TCHO sample stand were surprised there's a chocolate factory right on the waterfront, she said.

Dave Devincenzi of Newark kept a sharp eye on his 11-year-old son, Adam, who was scaling a rock-climbing wall near Pier 39.

"I guess this area is mostly for tourists, but Sunday Streets brings Bay Area people back," he said.

"It's a good way to lift the economy a little bit."

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